1. The 830 models are. I'm not sure the 840 is. OWC has a couple of excellent models. I've used several of their SSDs. The OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs are also compatible. Note that none of the third-party SSDs have TRIM support.

2. Put the SSD into an external enclosure. Boot the computer from the Recovery HD from which you can prep the SSD with Disk Utility (partition and format,) then install Lion. Test that this boots your computer from the external before transplanting the SSD into the computer.

OWC sells a product called the DataDoubler that enables you to replace the optical drive with either the old HDD or the new SSD giving you both drives.

So once I have my SSD, I basically connect it to my computer with a SATA-USB cable, then booting my computer holding Command+R (is this "Recovery HD"?), then the Disk Utility will pop up and I install Mac OS on it?

I've got on more question:

- There are kits for SSD, basically a cable which connects the SATA to USB. Does this allow me to access my SSD? That cable is what I call SATA-USB cable Probably wrong terminology...

Sorry for questions which might be obvious, I just want to be clear on everything.

Yes, that's correct. Of course the SSD needs to be in an enclosure or use some other means to connect it to the computer's USB port.

The Recovery HD will present you with a menu of selections. To prep the new SSD and install Lion/Mountain Lion:

Drive Preparation and Installation for Lion/Mountain Lion

1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.

2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.

3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.

4. After formatting is done quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button. When prompted to select the disk on which to install click on the link to Select Other Disk, locate the SSD and select it as the target for the installation.

There are several kits for connecting drives without using an enclosure. I've not used them, so I can't really comment. But they should work. What you do much depends on your plans for the 500 GB drive you are replacing. The SSD has half the capacity of the HDD, so if needed added storage space you may want to put the 500 GB drive into an external enclosure or use something like OWC's DataDoubler kit to replace the optical drive with the HDD.

1. The 830 models are. I'm not sure the 840 is. OWC has a couple of excellent models. I've used several of their SSDs. The OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs are also compatible. Note that none of the third-party SSDs have TRIM support.

2. Put the SSD into an external enclosure. Boot the computer from the Recovery HD from which you can prep the SSD with Disk Utility (partition and format,) then install Lion. Test that this boots your computer from the external before transplanting the SSD into the computer.

OWC sells a product called the DataDoubler that enables you to replace the optical drive with either the old HDD or the new SSD giving you both drives.

There's also another option...

Before installing run Apple Software Update to make sure that you have the latest software.

Download the OS X Recovery Disk Assistant. This will allow you to create a bootable Recovery partition on a USB thumb drive that will allow you to reinstall OS X Mountain Lion. You need to have at least 1GB of space on your USB drive. For more information, including how to properly set up a USB thumb drive, visit About OS X Recovery Disk Assistant.

Shut Down your Mac and connect the USB stick that you prepared with the Recovery assistant to your Mac.

Turn on your Mac and hold the option key. Select the Recovery USB thumbdrive as the boot up disk. Make sure that the computer successfully boots up to it.

Exit the Recovery USB by going to the Apple icon and selecting shutdown. Disconnect the USB thumbdrive.

Proceed to upgrade your MacBook Pro with the SSD drive.

Before turning on your Mac, re-connect your Recovery USB thumbdrive.

Turn On your Mac, hold the "option" key and boot from the USB thumbdrive.

Follow the instructions of the installer and agree with the terms and conditions, OS X will then proceed to the downloaded from Apple's servers. (This may take a while depending on your Internet connection's speed. Also, the computer will send its serial number to the Apple servers to validate the copy of OS X Mountain Lion.)

OS X Mountain Lion will proceed to install. This process will take some time, your Mac will reboot once installation is finished.

Follow the OS X set up assistant instructions after your Mac boots from installation.

Done! Proceed to install the rest of your Apps and restoring your documents if you use a back up solution

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